J. A. White

A boy is imprisoned by a witch and must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive. This thrilling contemporary fantasy from J. A. White, the acclaimed author of the Thickety series, brings to life the magic and craft of storytelling. Alex’s original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping the witch Natacha happy, but soon he’ll run out of pages to read from and be trapped forever. He’s loved scary stories his whole life, and he knows most don’t have a happily ever after. Now that Alex is trapped in a true terrifying tale, he’s desperate for a different ending—and a way out of this twisted place. This modern spin on the Scheherazade story is perfect for fans of Coraline and A Tale Dark and Grimm. With interwoven tips on writing with suspense, adding in plot twists, hooks, interior logic, and dealing with writer’s block, this is the ideal book for budding writers and all readers of delightfully just-dark-enough tales. * Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination * 2019-2020 Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award * 2020 Rhode Island Children's Book Award Nominee * Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 2019 (9-12) * 2020-2021 Missouri Association of School Librarians Truman Readers Award Preliminary Nominee * Texas Bluebonnet Award List 2020-2021 *

Nightbooks

Jenna

This book surpassed my expectations and I enjoyed reading it, I would recommend if this is your wheelhouse.

Who I would recommend this book to?

- if you like juvenile horror fiction
- if you like fairy tale retellings
- if you like stories about writers
- if you're looking for books about cats
- if you've ever felt weird for having niche interests

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What did I like?

The themes and tropes of the story! I absolutely love the theme of self-acceptance so much as well as found family and stories about the power of stories. My favorite scene was when Alex lured the witch by reciting opening sentences that he had drafted. 

I also love how this story, despite being a horror, fills you with hope and encourages the reader to pursue their interests. 

Not all books have dynamic protagonists, but I think Alex was a round character who had his own fears and desires. You could see how he went from hating himself to embracing who he was. I also found it very amusing and relatable when he experienced writers' block and procrastinated on his work. 

In regards to the identity of unicorn girl, I suppose I could've seen it coming, but I didn't. It was unexpected and definitely added to my enjoyment of the book!

Finally, I usually cannot deal with any sort of horror at all, but this book had the perfect amount. I'm honestly interested in checking out JA's other work to try to explore the genre even more.

What did I dislike?

The only thing I had any dislike for was how quick the ending was and how seemingly unaffected Alex and Yasmin were by the kidnapping. However, I think this type of ending is very acceptable for juvenile fiction. I also am curious if the author goes more in-depth with how they were affected psychologically in the sequel (which was just released this year!). I was also uncomfortable reading horror and a story about a kid being kidnapped, but that's a preference-thing and no fault of the story itself. Reading this book was a big step out of my comfort zone and a very positive experience. :)
</spoiler>

A boy is imprisoned by a witch and must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive. This thrilling contemporary fantasy from J. A. White, the acclaimed author of the Thickety series, brings to life the magic and craft of storytelling. Alex’s original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping the witch Natacha happy, but soon he’ll run out of pages to read from and be trapped forever. He’s loved scary stories his whole life, and he knows most don’t have a happily ever after. Now that Alex is trapped in a true terrifying tale, he’s desperate for a different ending—and a way out of this twisted place. This modern spin on the Scheherazade story is perfect for fans of Coraline and A Tale Dark and Grimm. With interwoven tips on writing with suspense, adding in plot twists, hooks, interior logic, and dealing with writer’s block, this is the ideal book for budding writers and all readers of delightfully just-dark-enough tales.

Corinne Few

mighty dragon 

THIS BOOK WAS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAZING

Ana V. 

Very visual. I couldn't stop reading it. The best part is that Alex writes scary tales and we get to read them as well. They keep getting scarier and scarier. Also, great ending.

Candyce Kirk

Hannah Alexander 

ok if you like reading about witches, old fairy tales with a mordern twist and friendships then this is the book for you. This book is about a little boy who loves scary storys and writes them all the time in these jounals called nightbooks one day after having a bad day at school he deides he needs to destorys them " to be normal" and he get kidnapped and really that is all you need to know great for a rainy day and a good cup of coffee

Abby Hoggatt

Jeni Enjaian

While not the genre that I have a particular fondness for, White crafted a masterful, whimsical narrative. I found the twist at the end (no spoilers) highly satisfying. White avoids the feeling of deus ex machina that frequently comes from solving mysteries such as the one inherent in this book. I admit to wanting more focus on the books but that does not take away from the fact that this book does excel in creating a horror lite.

Melea Mullican

What an unexpected joy. I really loved this book. It is super creepy especially for a children's book and the story was so clever. I loved the themes of friendship and being who you really are that were so clear yet not shoved in the reader's face.

I didn't love Natasha, and the book loses a few points for her absolutely awful and immature dialogue (she's 29 and speaks like a 6 year old), but overall, it is a great story.

I highly recommend for readers who love things that go bump in the night.

Kerri McDonald

If you’re looking for a spooky middle grade that kind of has the feel of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, then you should definitely check out this one! Nightbooks follows a young boy named Alex who, after a late night excursion out of his New York apartment, finds himself trapped by a witch who lives in his building. To keep himself alive, Alex has to appease the witch with the scary stories he has written in what he calls his “nightbooks”. But there are only so many stories and, once he runs out, his life is forfeit. Alex must find a way to escape before it’s too late.

This was such a fun and creepy read! I loved the fact that we got to read Alex’s scary stories. There were some properly freaky ones peppered throughout this book and it was awesome! I also loved watching Alex learning to embrace who he is and not who he thinks he should be. My favorite part of this story was probably his relationship with his fellow prisoner, Yasmin. It was a bit of sweetness wrapped in all the creepiness that is this book. Though the ending felt a tad rushed, I still enjoyed my time with this story and was kind of sad to see it end!

Overall, this was the perfect blend of scary and tender. It definitely makes me want to read other books by this author!

Lynn Braden

Alex loves to write scary stories, but when he begins to believe that writing them shows that there is something wrong with him, he tries to go to the basement to burn his notebooks in the incinerator. While on the way down, Alex is captured by Natacha, who is a witch. Instead of killing Alex, Natacha wants Alex to read his stories to her each night to appease the apartment, which she tells him is alive. After a while, Alex meets Yasmin, who is another captive, and together they make a plan to try and escape.

Nightbooks includes the stories that Alex has written and is telling to Natacha, adding another layer to this unique story, which is a cross between Hansel and Gretel and 1001 Arabian Nights. Themes of self acceptance and the value of friendship are explored. The story is spooky enough to be a Halloween staple. Overall, Nightbooks is a fun, scary story that teaches some important lessons.

Manon van Heumen

This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed every minute of it, and I wanted to keep on reading to know what happened next! I can really recommend this book to younger readers (even though it might be scary at some points)!

Nightbooks

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